Investigators have used bloodhounds and interviewed family and friends to try to unravel the mysterious disappearance of Paige Birgfeld, a Grand Junction mother of three missing for nearly a week.

“She was here in Grand Junction, and there was nothing out of the ordinary,” said her father, Frank Birgfeld. “And then she simply vanished.”

The search for the 34-year-old began Saturday, when she was reported missing by family members. Birgfeld was last seen Thursday night, said Mesa County sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Gierhart.

Sunday night, her red Ford Focus was found burning in an empty parking lot about 3 miles from her house.

Frank Birgfeld, who lives in Centennial, said the fire appeared to have been started inside the car, as if to destroy evidence.

“I can tell you that (police) never considered this a missing persons matter,” Birgfeld said. “They were actively investigating this as much more.”

But the Sheriff’s Office is saying anything is possible. “Whether she walked away or staged her disappearance or was the victim of something, we’re open to all possibilities,” Gierhart said.

Friends said Paige Birgfeld had told them she was afraid of one of her ex-husbands, Rob Dixon.

Internet postings apparently written by Birgfeld, which have been published by the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, also indicate that.

“My children would ask me if Dad was going to kill me,” she wrote under the name Paige Dixon in a posting in March onchefsuccess.com, a forum for people like herself who sold Pampered Chef products. “I can’t imagine what they were thinking life would be like after he killed me. … I would gladly sacrifice every penny of child support if he would stay away!”

Rob Dixon was arrested on charges of domestic violence after allegedly shoving Birgfeld during an argument, according to a police report and court records. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of harassment.

Sheriff’s investigators have not named Dixon as a suspect in the disappearance.

Dixon’s lawyer, Scott Robinson, said his client was in Philadelphia last week. Dixon moved there to work as a paramedic after the couple’s divorce.

He had planned, however, to move back to Colorado to be closer to his three children, ages 3, 6 and 8, Robinson said.

Dixon returned to Colorado on Sunday after he learned about Birgfeld’s disappearance, Robinson said.

Gierhart said Dixon has answered questions and cooperated fully with police investigators.

Frank Birgfeld, a former top securities regulator with the National Association of Securities Dealers, said he didn’t have any reason to believe Dixon was involved.

In fact, Birgfeld said, Dixon was staying with him, his wife and other family members in his daughter’s Grand Junction house while the search continues for her.

Birgfeld said he found a business card in his daughter’s house that indicated she may have been involved in modeling or as part of an escort service.

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